{prison gates won't open up for me}dragonstar

[Bast]

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[atrb=background,http://i54.tinypic.com/34zfx4m.jpg] DARK thunderheads rolled overhead, blacking out the once baby blue sky and chasing the sun to an early dusk. Winds over the plains began to howl and moan, warning hunters and prey alike to seek shelter. An almost foreign tension settled over the plains as the darkness rolled in. Birds fell silent, prey hid in their dens and burrows while even the mightiest lions warily watched the skies and sought shelter. All but one lion that is. A single white lioness was trekking across the plains with resolute determination in her bright blue eyes. Her white pelt stood out against the bending tall grasses, buffeted by the growing winds. Regardless of its strength, the wind could not stop her. Willowleaf had a mission in mind and she was determined to complete it. This could be her last chance for a long while to go to the border. She'd marked the trees the day before, leaving three long claw marks in the bark, marks only one cat would know the significance of. In all honesty, Willowleaf wasn't sure why she'd done it. She supposed it was the loneliness. OVER the past few days, clanmates had approached her and attempted to make friends or whatever it was they thought they were doing. Willowleaf had been overjoyed until she realized their company wasn't nearly as fulfilling as that of the stoic white tiger that led TigerClan. Why he appealed to her so much more than her clanmates was a mystery but Willowleaf knew it to be true. The lions she dwelled with, they were too emotional, too easy to read, too at ease with themselves and content with their mundane lives. Willowleaf liked the excitement of her secrets with Dragonstar, liked that he understood her without her saying a word and that she could read him with ease. All the others...they were ghosts, speaking to her as they went along but never staying long. THERE was something powerful and beautiful and deadly and promising. The sad thing was, Willowleaf seemed to be the only one that could see it. SHE started running when the rains came, forcing her out of her random thoughts. It fell so hard and fast that it stung her skin, drenched her in moments and reduced her field of vision to barely two tail-lengths ahead of herself. Within moments her paws and halfway up her legs was covered in mud and it splashed up onto her underbelly. Every other bound ended in a splash as she moved through the terrain as it gradually thickened from plains to forest. She was getting close, or so she hoped. Thunder roared overhead, nearly deafening the lioness as lightning forked through the black clouds and distorted her vision. The rivers would rise and flood if they had more storms like this. A storm like this, Willowleaf had never seen such a thing. LEAPING over a swollen creek, Willowleaf sought shelter in the trees. They had little to offer. Occasionally a branch would fall with a loud crash and when lightning forked the sky, the white lioness would see only looming shapes closing in on her. Claustrophobia clutched at the warrior, reminding her that she'd left the open serenity of the plains until she reminded herself that the storm was just as violent, if not more so, in the plains. Rain stung her skin and the wind pushed her this way and that until she spotted an abandoned den of some sort. Eyes lighting up with hope of dry shelter, Willowleaf ran for it and wriggled her way inside. It was barely large enough for an adult lioness but she made it work, turning so she could see outside and wait for the storm to pass. Just when she had gotten settled however, lightning struck overhead, close enough that it made Willowleaf's ears pop and every instinct in her scream to run. She never got the chance to abandon the den because the lightning struck a tree nearby. With a hiss, snap and crack, the tree split in two. Branches, some as thick around as Willowleaf's body, came crashing to the ground. PRESSING herself to the ground and as far back into the den as she could get, Willowleaf closed her eyes and laid her ears back against her head, praying the awful storm would pass soon. She must have dozed off because when she next opened her eyes, it was still raining quite heavily but the thunder was distant and lightning flickered only occasionally. The problem was, when she looked to the den opening, branches lay in front of it, a product of the split tree. One of the larger branches barred the den entrance while other smaller ones piled on top in a haphazard manner. Willowleaf's heart leaped into her throat. SHE was trapped. NO one knew where she was. SHE was going to die. SUFFOCATE. ALONE. THE den seemed to shrink around her. Giving a cry of distress, Willowleaf clawed at the branches but in such a small amount of space, she couldn't properly swipe at the debris. After several frantic attempts, she shank into a crouch, heart pounding and eyes wide and terrified. She was going to die. No one would find her. No one knew where she was. The clan didn't know. Dragonstar might not have seen her scratches and she wasn't even near their meeting place. Another cry rose from her as she slumped against the den's wall. She couldn't even stretch out her legs...Willowleaf jerked and vomited, fear and panic forming a toxin in her blood. She needed out. Outoutoutoutout. It was all her mind could think of. She was going to die. She was going to die. She needed out. Blackness swelled over her and the lioness went limp against the den's wall, limbs curled, the stale smell of vomit filling the small space. Tagged;; Dragonstar <3 Word Count;; 978 Background Song;; "Savin Me" by Nickelback Notes;; <3

[crush]

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[atrb=background,http://i52.tinypic.com/2ql4pdw.jpg] He had been out by the border early in the morning. Coincidentally, with Daypaw. He'd caught her following him a few minutes out, though he'd let it go a bit longer before he had informed her of this. It had been a stroll through the territory more so, and he hated that he saw the scratch marks that particular day. It wasn't that he wasn't happy to see them, rather that his apprentice was with him and he couldn't just wait there until she showed like he had promised he would. Instead, he very slowly increased the pace a bit, so slowly even he would have hardly noticed the difference until the pace was actually compared the the start pace. He'd swung by camp, asked a warrior to take her out for some hunting practice as he had something he had to attend to, and he had strolled out of camp in the complete opposite direction. At least, until he was way out of sight, when he doubled back and sped through the forest as fast as he could. He had to be there before she was, he'd said he would be. He would like to keep his word. He got to the tree just as the storm began to roll in. He watched the clouds warily, knowing the dangers of trees in a storm. There was a reason tigerclan camp had shorter trees - they were far less likely to attract lightning. But she was a plains cat. She didn't know the dangers of tall trees. There was a sharp stab at his heart at that thought, but he shoved it off. The storm hadn't started yet. If she got here soon, he could find a safer place where they could shelter. After a few short seconds, the tiger began to pace back and forth, wearing the grass down long before the rain began to fall. The first drop sent another jolt through his heart, and he immediately left the tree to draw closer to the lionclan border, eyes peeled for her approaching. He thought he saw a white shape in the distance, but it was too far to be sure and the rain quickly obscured the image as it began to downpour. He let out a roar, knowing it wouldn't reach through a forest, but figuring it might over the more open grounds here, but the thunder drowned it out. He was no lion, he could not compete with the thunder. Instead, he forced himself to seek shelter nearby. Not much shelter, mind you, since he made sure he would be able to keep an eye on the marked tree. Not that anyone showed up. When the rain had nearly stopped, Dragonstar was completely soaked to the bone. He had been before, of course, he was a tiger. He didn't mind the wetness, and his worry overrode the chill. He set out immediately along the lionclan border, just far enough from it that his scent wouldn't carry over, but not a pawstep further. Finally, he spotted deep, muddy tracks in the earth. The rain had washed mud in to make them shallower, but the fact they were there after the downpour meant that they had to be recent. The water diluted any possible scent that may have been left, but he took a chance and following the tracks. He bounded through the puddles far faster than he had bounded through his territory; he had no worry about being seen by clanmates who would be curious enough to follow him, not this time. Through the rain came the smell of burnt wood, far before he spotted the tree that had been struck. His heart leaped into his throat when he noticed the pawprints lead past the branches, but that there was no path behind it. A shelter, yes, but one that had ended up closed off. He didn't care if this was Willowleaf or not, he would help either way, but the idea that it was probably the white lioness left him rushing more than he should have. He quietly thanked starclan the tree hadn't caught on fire, then began scrabbling at the smaller branches, tearing leaves and twigs alike with his frantic clawing, teeth wrapping around the larger ones in order to drag them away. The largest, however, was far too big. Perhaps, though, the gap now above it... He lifted himself on top of it, forcing his head through the gap and feeling the top of the opening scrap against his back. But he would fit. Or, would have, except there was no room inside for him. He pulled to an abrupt stop. It was indeed Willowleaf, and so very still. He stilled a moment, throwing up those walls he'd built all those years ago in the cave by the river as a nameless cub, his mind jumping instantly to the familiar defense mechanism of running through the happy times in his life. Unfortunately, when one of the few sources of your happiness laid in front of you, still as stone, it didn't help as much. Slowly, cautiously in case she was alive but injured, he stretched his head in a bit further, nose burying into the side of her neck and nudging. It was gentle, but insistent and repetitive, desperate for a response of any sort. He didn't trust himself to make any sort of sound, so no words were said. He was certain they wouldn't have come out even if he'd had any to say. It was as if his throat had closed off on him, burning and unable to function. So, he did what he could and just nudged her again and again.

[Bast]

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[atrb=background,http://i54.tinypic.com/34zfx4m.jpg] THROUGH the blackness, Willowleaf felt something touching her, something damp but warm at the same time. She tried not to heed it. Something was wrong. There was a reason she didn't want to open her eyes, something scary was waiting for her. Something that involved noise and not being able to breathe right. It was easier to just stay limp and let her mind drift again. The only problem with this theory was that whatever was touching her kept moving her, making it nearly impossible to ignore. Scrunching her eyes, Willowleaf tried her hardest to ignore it. She didn't want to see whatever it was that was so wrong. Now that she was more awake though, the young lioness could feel the offness of the space around her. Something smelled horrible and clogged in her nose. Her feet touched earth and she had the feeling something was hanging low over her head. When at last she couldn't take the nudging anymore, she opened her eyes. BIG mistake. EARTHEN walls pushed in all around. Instantly awake, heart beating like a frightened bird's wings, Willowleaf sat up and jerked in fright. Her head hit the den's ceiling and her claws dug into dirt. Dirt. All around. If she had been human, she would have screamed bloody murder. Being a feline, she did the next best thing. She gave a terrified yowl and pressed herself up against the den wall, unable to do much else due to the lack of space. She needed outoutoutoutout. The thought burned in her mind as panic crawled in again. Her head whipped toward the den entrance, hoping against hope that by some grace from StarClan it would have all been a nightmare and it was open. IT wasn't but something, or someone, had pushed their head through a small opening. White fur. Black stripes. Guarded blue eyes. The most beautiful sight Willowleaf had ever seen. Dragonstar. If she had been able to, she would have sobbed. "DRAGONSTAR!" Willowleaf gasped, claws digging into the dirt as she tried to push toward him, heart still fluttering at an almost impossible rate, mind still fogged by fright. She pressed her head against his chin, a typical lion greeting, and almost purred in relief. "I...I don't want to die here, you have to help me, I can't breathe...it's too small..." She babbled like an idiot but she didn't have time nor the sense of mind to feel self-conscious about it. She needed out. Every fiber of her body screamed that she needed space, fresh air, open skies. She didn't care about anything else right now, she needed out. That was the only cure, the only remedy for what he would probably take to be madness. Well, he could think she was mad all he wanted as long as he helped her get out before she really did lose every shred of sense she'd ever had. BORN a creature of wide open skies without a tree in sight, Willowleaf simply could not handle such cramped quarters. Even being in the forest when she met Dragonstar was a pinch for her. She needed to see blue skies go on to the horizon, see the sun fall unhindered to warm the earth while golden tall grasses waved in the light. Hindering big trees with their leafy arms, they stopped the sunlight, blocked the free flowing breezes. To her a forest was a prison. This was simply torture. WITHOUT a doubt she looked a mess, blue eyes frantic and white fur splashed with drying mud. Her coat was still wet from the downpour she'd run through. One of her paw pads had been gashed open and bled sluggishly, she was shaking with fear and her eyes couldn't settle on one thing for more than a heartbeat and continued to flit around the tiny den, from Dragonstar to the ceiling to the walls and back to Dragonstar. She shook like a leaf in the autumn breeze, rain flattening her coat so that she looked much smaller, much younger. She had the look of a desperate beast ready to do anything to escape and survive. TRYING to shove her shoulder against the branch holding her captive, Willowleaf gave a wail of distress when she couldn't put any real force behind the push because her paws kept sliding in the dirt and she couldn't properly brace herself. It seemed as if she forgot Dragonstar's presence, staring at the branch in such despair as she tried time and time again to push it and each time sliding or being unable to put any force behind the push. It wasn't working and panic was crawling in all over again like a thick poison, burning in her veins and crowding her mind. Tagged;; Dragonstar <3 Word Count;; 791 Background Song;; "Six Feet from the Edge" by Creed Notes;; <3

[crush]

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[atrb=background,http://i52.tinypic.com/2ql4pdw.jpg] When she started awake, he could have sworn his heart stopped beating for a moment due to the immense relief he felt. He tried his very hardest to purr as she pressed against his chin, begged for him to help her. The only thing he got out, of course, was the traditional tiger version of a purr; the chuffing she heard so very much of. It was only a mere moment before he panic set in again, however, and he jerked out of the hole, tumbling off the branch and landing on his back in the mud for a moment, surprised at how quickly she had switched from simply scared to outright terrified. He shot back to his feet and pulled close, scrabbling at the large branch, clawing at it and trying to drag it with his teeth, but to no avail. It would not budge. He was not disheartened, though. If the mud was making it difficult to find a hold on the ground to push, it would be equally slippery for the branch. He ducked out of sight, to the other side of the branch, trying to push from one of the ends. It budged a bit, though not enough to free up the entryway to the shelter. He growled and paused to dash back over to her. He wouldn't let her die, let alone in there. He shoved his head back through the gap he'd made, running a tongue over her ear, trying to get her to calm down enough to focus on him rather than the tight quarters. You'll have to push with me. It's too large to move on my own. You're going to get out, though, Willowleaf, alright? It's just going to take a bit of work. He wasn't sure where the comforting words came from. He himself had never been comforted, nor comforted another. They came to him like instinct, just like the instinct to want to hunt or eat or drink or any other natural thing that one did. He buried his face in her neck a moment, feeling his shoulders catch the the earth above him crumble a bit as they did. His head jerked away, hitting against the roof, ears shooting up. Why hadn't he thought of it sooner? The den was made of mostly earth, and it was wet and weakened by the rain. He had little doubt she wouldn't take kindly to earth showering down on her, but it seemed a far better option than trying to move the branch. He glanced at her, and figured warning her would probably just make her panic. Instead, he pulled out of his hole and began furiously batting and clawing at the earth at the top of the entrance, send chunks of mud and grass showering down and opening the hole up wider. Dig the dirt to the back of the hollow as it falls so it doesn't block the entrance. He only hoped she wasn't too scared to listen.

[Bast]

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[atrb=background,http://i54.tinypic.com/34zfx4m.jpg] WHEN Dragonstar vanished, Willowleaf nearly had a heart attack. He was going to leave her to die. Slumping to the ground, the once white lioness dug her claws into the earth and tried to breathe. It wasn't working very well, the air kept catching in the back of her throat. Moments later, chunks of wet earth and mud started falling down into the den. Letting out a distressed yowl, Willowleaf tried to press herself against the back of the den, trembling from whiskers to tail tip. This was no way for a lion to die. No way for a warrior to die. It was shameful and black but Willowleaf couldn't dredge up any sort of dignity to die with honor. Who cared about honor? She was about to be smothered by dirt, choke on earthworms and never be found! Her clan would never know because how could Dragonstar explain it? She would forever be a traitor, thought to abandon the clan. Maybe Dragonstar was doing it on purpose? To get rid of her? She was dangerous to him so of course he would get rid of her! The thought made her hiss and recoil, heart pounding so loud she could feel it throughout her body. "DIG the dirt to the back of the hollow as it falls so it doesn't block the entrance." ROUNDED auds perked up. Dragonstar. He wasn't gone. Without really processing the order, Willowleaf began to claw at the loose earth broken down by the TigerClan leader. It was hard to navigate it toward the back of the den, given the cramped space. Willowleaf's paws soon turned black with dirt and mud, her forelegs and chest completely coated. She could taste it in her mouth, gagging at the thought of suffocating because of it. She worked in a haze, following the order without really thinking about why. Because she was a warrior and warriors followed orders no matter what. It was in their blood. The first thing they learned. Instinct. LIGHT made Willowleaf freeze despite the dirt that continued to fall down on her. WITHOUT a second thought, without a first thought at all, the lioness lunged for the light. Her claws grabbed earth as she thrust herself out of the opening as if some demon was chasing her from the black den. If she collided with Dragonstar in her haste, she neither felt it nor let it slow her. First her head, then her shoulders and then her mud caked bodice she exploded out into the world of open air and freedom. Flinging herself into fresh air and the weak light of a gray-skied world, Willowleaf almost felt like she'd been born again from darkness into the world of the living. Her paws hit the grass and she barreled away from the den, half falling half running away from the prison. Trees rose around her, spurring her to flee. She needed openness, space, sky. Water splashed her as she bound through puddles as fast as she could, not stopping until she came out of the woodland. She smelled LionClan's border and saw the trees thinning. JUST before the border, still in the loner land between TigerClan and LionClan, she threw herself to the ground. The trees were mere shrubs and the sky opened up above her. A fine mist fell over her as she rolled onto her back and stretched her long body as far as she could until the muscles protested. Baby blue orbs looked up at a pearl gray sky and she drew in hungry lung fulls of rainy air. She stretched and wriggled on the ground still on her back, stretching and savoring the new space for a few moments before rolling onto her side and going limp. She was spread out, paws sprawled before her, blue eyes closed, breathing deep. She could feel her heartbeat slowing as she felt the breeze caress her wet fur, feel the openness of the sky high over her head. There were no trees to weigh her down, no earth to entrap her. A sigh of utter profound content rushed out of the lioness as she laid on her bed of bent over tall grasses, laying in the no-man's land between LionClan and TigerClan, not caring in the slightest who saw her. Tagged;; Dragonstar <3 Word Count;; 704 Background Song;; "Thanks for the Memories" by Fallout Boy Notes;; <3

[crush]

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[atrb=background,http://i52.tinypic.com/2ql4pdw.jpg] When she burst out, he found himself flat on his back again. This time, though, the pull of gravity hit him far harder. First, he twisted to avoid the bullet of white, but this simply made his back paws slip. Before he knew it, he had cracked his head rather hard against the branch and hit the ground with force he had only ever felt falling out of a tree. Winded, he lay there a moment, gasping desperate for air that his lungs simply refused to take in. He tipped to his side, sputtering with the minimal air he didn't manage to obtain, eyes watching as she ran. He moved to get up, to follow her, but the lack of oxygen kept him pinned to the ground. His muscles felt heavy, unable to move, and he could have sworn that his vision was doubled for a moment. He closed his eyes a second, forcing himself to stop the struggle to breath. A moment later, he tried again and this time managed a full, deep breath. His head swam, but he staggered to his feet, finding the fresher pawprints and following them at a rather slow pace. He refused to admit to himself that he was drifting side to side a bit, or that his vision was blurred. He'd get over it. It was just a knock to the head. It wasn't that bad, it couldn't be. He didn't feel any blood trickling down, after all, and if it hadn't split the skin, he would be just fine. He finally spotted her, laid out on her side and he sighed in relief that she was just fine. He slowly made his way over, collapsing to the ground as soon as he reached her back, head falling to his paws, eyes closing to stop the throbbing. It would seem luck didn't favor them just about every time they met. The first time, she had nearly drowned. The second, both of them had donned battle scars while they walked away. This time, she had a panic attack and his head felt like it was splitting open. Yet, he never once thought for a second it was a sign from starclan. He was a leader. If they truly disapproved so much, they could damn well tell him to his face in a dream. His eyes finally flickered open again, partially, glancing over at her. Without so much as a word, he simply turned his head and rested his chin on her shoulder, eyes closing again. As far as he was concerned in this particularly moment, the world was already too loud without him adding to the noise level. Silence would do just fine.

[Bast]

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[atrb=background,http://i54.tinypic.com/34zfx4m.jpg] FOR a long while, Willowleaf just breathed. It felt so much easier now, less of a chore and more of a pleasurable thing. It was beautiful. Occasionally she would open her eyes just to make sure the sky was still there before letting her lids slide closed again. Her heartbeat slowed back to normal and it felt less like she was about to explode. The breeze was a finer medicine than any of Thunderstrike's potent herb mixtures and even the fine mist that fell to cling to her pale coat felt like the most glorious thing in the world. Never again would Willowleaf take any of this for granted, that was for sure. Not when it could so easily be changed into a tiny closed in space where she might never get out or see the light of day again. Even the ground felt more welcoming now, pressing against her side as if it was apologizing for entrapping her earlier. Laying there and knowing the sky was above her, Willowleaf didn't mind it in the slightest. WHEN the heavy weight of another body rested against her back, Willowleaf took a deep slow breath. Dragonstar's scent coiled into her consciousness, the cloying scents of the forest washed away by the rain. Lazily opening her eyes, Willowleaf purred softly in utter content. He didn't speak and Willowleaf was content in the silence. Words weren't very important between them anyway. Letting her eyes slide closed, Willowleaf let herself simply listen to the birds and goings on of the world around them. Her eyes didn't open again until Dragonstar's head came to rest on her shoulder. IT surprised her, though to some it would be a small gesture. It surprised her because Willowleaf knew he wasn't fond of touching and he didn't often seek out comfort, nor freely give it out. In fact, Willowleaf had only heard it a few select times and seldom more than once in a day. She'd heard it when she was trapped. Why would he be doing something so...sentimental...now? Moving carefully, so she wouldn't disturb him, Willowleaf moved so that she could turn her head and look at him. His blue eyes were closed and his face relaxed, something Willowleaf had never seen. It was odd, seeing his face look so soft and quiet. Gently, Willowleaf touched her nose against his, very lightly, a feather's touch. NORMALLY Dragonstar was alert, ears up and eyes open. She remembered the first time she'd met him, he had been uncontrollably worried about the presence of rogues and loners. He'd been so tightly wound that it had been nearly impossible to get him to think of anything else. Now he was laying with his head pillowed on her shoulder, quiet and eyes closed. Never in her life would Willowleaf have expected to see Dragonstar like this, no matter how much she had wanted to. Why wasn't she happy that he was okay being a little less guarded around her? Why did it make her more guarded and alert? Touching her nose a bit more firmly to his, Willowleaf peered at her friend, ears swerving toward him. Her tail brushed against his as she tried to get his attention. "DRAGONSTAR...are you alright?" Willowleaf asked, voice soft mostly due to their closeness. Tagged;; Dragonstar <3 Word Count;; 704 Background Song;; "Life is a River" by Garth Brooks Notes;; <3

[crush]

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[atrb=background,http://i52.tinypic.com/2ql4pdw.jpg] He felt the shift as she turned her head to look at him, but he didn't move, drifting between various things, but never sticking long to any one of them. One moment, he was noticing how loud the bird somewhere off to his right was, next the rhythm of her breathing, and so on, his mind jumping to and fro far more than normal. The lightest touch of her nose against his left him something to concentrate on, and he found he did, eyes opening a crack to look over at her as her nose pressed more firmly. He spotted the worry, or that's what he told himself. It was completely possible that he'd heard it in her voice instead. Either way wouldn't have mattered much. Her tail touching to his finally made him respond to the question. Fine. But do you have to speak so loud? I'm right here. He mumbled softly, just loud enough she could hear but no louder. Even that sounded a bit too loud, rumbling around and echoing through his head. He was pretty sure it had something to do with the whack his head had gotten when it hit the tree branch, but he mentally shrugged it off. It was nothing. It wouldn't kill him. His head would hurt for a bit, and tomorrow he'd be just fine. He'd been through worse in his life. Least, I'll be fine as long as Daypaw doesn't show up all excited and chasing butterflies and feathers. His voice had lowered further to a soft grumble. Truly, his apprentice wasn't that annoying, not really, but it was far easier to complain about her than to praise her, particularly after she'd followed him that morning and made his life difficult. Well, more difficult than it had to be. It was already complicated to begin with, now that he'd thrown in meetings with Willowleaf. Not that he minded - he truly didn't. He had regularly fond himself longing for the acceptance he felt with her. He was, perhaps, at his most relaxed with her nearby, even though he shouldn't be. Ever since the river, that was. Sure, he'd been cautious even then, but it was in his nature. He was surprisingly worse most days whenever he stalked the borders of tigerclan. Not that she needed to know that.

[Bast]

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[atrb=background,http://i54.tinypic.com/34zfx4m.jpg] TALK loud? That made Willowleaf's ears perk up further. Drawing back a bit, she stared at the white tom as though he'd gone mad. She had barely whispered and still he talked softer and softer, grumbling about someone named Daypaw and barely keeping his eyes open. Looking around, trying not to jostle Dragonstar, Willowleaf tried to figure out what could have happened to make him so out of it because he plainly wasn't with it. Had she run into him? Thinking back the white lioness didn't think she'd collided with him and if she had, it couldn't possibly have been that hard, right? Okay, maybe she'd been a little energetic running out of the den but who could blame her? Plus, how could she have possibly packed that much energy into her lunge? Sighing softly, Willowleaf just shook her head and turned to look at her grumbling companion. HE was quiet now, relaxed in a manner she never thought she'd see. For a few moments Willowleaf simply laid there and let herself enjoy it since she'd probably never see it again. One thing she realized was how when he dozed, Dragonstar looked younger, as if the weight of the world wasn't on his shoulders. His mind was probably as flighty as ever but at least outwardly he looked less like a wall of stone stood between him and the rest of the world. A soft smile came to the white lioness's face as she thought about it. It was so odd to think an outcast lion could bring this out from a fickle, stoic tiger. Shaking her head in wonder, Willowleaf turned her head and rested it on her forepaws, her clear blue gaze following the bobbing of a nearby blade of grass as raindrops dripped off of its top one at a time. "WHAT a beautiful mess," Willowleaf whispered softly, barely loud enough to be heard. FALLING into silence, Willowleaf's gaze followed the descent of a diamond raindrop as it fell to the moist earth. Someday she wouldn't be able to see this, these quiet times. She'd forget the sights, sounds and smells of them. Time would take her away from these quiet times with Dragonstar after he saved her from her most recent mishap. Someday she would have to find a male lion and raise kits. Deep down she wanted to be a mother and Dragonstar was not an option. Then she'd never see him again because her kits and mate would expect her full attention. That train of thought led Willowleaf to thoughts of kits with a lion's build and faint stripes barring their sides and backs. Clear blue eyes and curious faces, purring in content and huffing in annoyance. Large paws and silent paws. Running fast like the wind or slithering through shadowy forests. A small soft smile came to Willowleaf's maw at the thought of the beautiful, unique kits. She didn't know their names or who they were, just that they were there, somewhere. It was a future she could have if she asked but one she would never dare to ask for. That thought sobered the she-lion, chasing away the smile and making her ears lay flat. NO. Her kits would be expected to be golden brown in color with curious amber eyes and lean bodies. They'd have pelts dappled in youth and then smooth and solid in adulthood. They would be fast runners, cunning hunters. They would be like every lion before them, because honestly what were the chances of white kits? JUST like everyone before them. THE thought left a sour taste in Willowleaf's mouth as her stare turned into a glare, following another raindrop's fall. JUST like everyone before them. WHAT a dreary existence lay ahead for whatever children she would bear. They would learn to be obedient, respectful, perfect warriors. They would learn to conform, to think the same as their mentors and leaders. They would never know what it meant to stand tall through the scorn and teasing. It wasn't an existence many would wish on their kits but Willowleaf knew it wasn't all bad. Her siblings had stood tall and dreamed big, daring the world to tell them no. She hadn't been so great at it when she was young but now, if she thought about it, she rebelled in her own way. The fact that she was laying beside the TigerClan leader right now, that was proof of it. It was a different sort of rebellion but it was there. Kits between her and a LionClan tom, they wouldn't dare do this. They would stay within the boundaries of what the clan dictated was safe. To most mothers, this would be something to be proud of, obedient good warrior kits. To Willowleaf it brought only a sting of shame. Tagged;; Dragonstar <3 Word Count;; 802 Background Song;; "God Help the Outcasts" from the Hunchback of Notre Dame Notes;; <3

[crush]

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[atrb=background,http://i52.tinypic.com/2ql4pdw.jpg] He was right about one thing, at least. The pounding in his head, like a deer kicking to get out, did in fact lessen. Nonetheless, he'd closed his eyes again after speaking, letting himself drift in between wakefulness and that lovely floating feeling one got just before falling asleep or just after waking, that space between awake and sleeping. It held something different for him, of course, for he felt it on occasion in the midst of sleep as well, when starclan cared to interrupt his dreamless resting. It was not often, though, so he dealt with it. He wasn't sure how much later it was when he finally opened his eyes again. He simply was aware that he head hurt less, at least generally. There was still a stubbornly persistent throb with each beat of his heart, right where his head had hit, but it didn't spread to the rest of his brain anymore, so he was fine with it. It was far better than earlier. He pulled his head from her shoulder, not that he went far, just rolled to lay on his back, staring up at the sky. It was something he had never really done, never bothered to do. It had always been tempting, but he'd always been so concerned with training, with duty, with revenge. For this moment, at least, he felt none of that. So, he laid on his back and simply looked to the sky, still overcast with gray clouds. I took an apprentice. He murmured softly, out of the blue. He wasn't quite sure why. This was how most conversations with him went though. Just jump right into a topic, telling it how it is, blunt and to the point. He didn't often start conversations, of course, and that was perhaps what was truly strange to him. He paused a moment, not quite sure if he had truly spoken or just thought about mentioning it. Deciding it was most likely the former, since his mouth had betrayed him more than once in his life experiences, he took a moment to ponder how to continue. Not long, of course. He would never leave it hanging. He wasn't even sure why he'd mentioned it of course, then reminded himself of his muttered complaint about Daypaw. An explanation for that, then. It must have been. I still haven't figured out why. I was just standing there, about to say Thistledown's name, put her with him, then when I opened my mouth... Well. I said my name instead. I mean, I suppose it's a good thing. I just... I don't know. She's alright, I guess. Foolish. Obnoxious. Stubborn. Tries her hardest to appear all mature whenever she notices me there, to the point of putting on a mask. He hardly even realized he was describing not just Daypaw, but himself in those last two traits. It was what had subconsciously drawn him to her, made him take her as his own apprentice, though he'd never realized it and still hadn't. He saw bits and pieces of himself in her. Not always, and not an exact match, but the similarities were there. But, as usual, he was blind to the obvious.

[Bast]

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[atrb=background,http://i54.tinypic.com/34zfx4m.jpg] AS silence dominated the duo, Willowleaf's thoughts on kits and the politics of her clan continued to wander around and around her mind. What she was doing was wrong but it didn't feel wrong. Was befriending a cat that looked different really such a bad thing? Why? Why would StarClan be so prejudice and cruel? Was loving a cat bad just because their fur didn't look like yours? So Dragonstar had stripes and his pelt was more snowy than blonde, so what? It didn't make him that much different from her. He was guarded, gruff and a cat of few words but she'd met many lions like him. One of them, though she hadn't met him recently, was supposedly Blackstar. Why was it okay for her to know Blackstar but not know Dragonstar when they were both almost exactly the same. Just because they didn't look alike or live together, did it make that much of a difference? APPARENTLY so. Tradition dictated the lives of all clan cats, Willowleaf's included, no matter how much she disliked it. She could not betray her clan. Could she? She was doing it right now even though she had never told Dragonstar a single LionClan secret. Then again, that was probably because she had no secrets to tell. She was only a warrior, not someone important like a deputy or medicine cat. Then why would Dragonstar bother with her? She had nothing to offer him, except a shoulder to lean on. Turning her head a bit just so she could see him dozing out of the corner of her eye, a small smile crept onto her maw. Maybe that was enough. WILLOWLEAF had no idea how long she simply laid staring at the scenery before she heard Dragonstar's rumbling voice and felt his head move from her shoulder. "I took an apprentice." Raising her head a bit from her paws, Willowleaf perked her ears and looked over at her companion. She opened her maw to congratulate him until he continued and cut her off. As he spoke, Willowleaf couldn't help but find amusement in it. The apprentice he was describing, well, she sounded like what Willowleaf imagined Dragonstar could have been as an apprentice if it hadn't been for his traumas. "FOOLISH. Obnoxious. Stubborn. Tries her hardest to appear all mature whenever she notices me there, to the point of putting on a mask." WHEN Dragonstar spoke those words, Willowleaf couldn't stop herself. She started purring in amusement, a warm rumbling sound that it seemed only lions could make and a laugh pulled itself from the white lioness. For a long while, Willowleaf could only laugh and purr until she finally took a deep breath and opened her eyes again to look at her friend. Her blue eyes sparkled with amusement and the warm purr still underlined her tone when she spoke. "OH Dragonstar!" Willowleaf laughed, flicking his side with her tail and turning so she could face him properly. "Imagine you had never been taken from your mother, imagine you'd been born into the clans even! Oh you would have been just like her, I know it in my bones you would have been." The LionClan warrior twined her tail lazily with Dragonstar's, not even thinking about it. "She annoys you because she is you, she has the stubborn, try-her-hardest attitude I've seen in you. I haven't even met her and I can see it, just in the way you talk about her." Laying her head on her forelegs, turned so that she could look up a Dragonstar, Willowleaf untwined their tails and touched his flank again. "Someday Dragonstar, she'll be your greatest ally." WILLOWLEAF would never pretend to be a fortune teller, that bit was for medicine cats, but she liked to think she had intuition enough to get her by. Any apprentice that got Dragonstar so worked up, well, they were a piece of work and would no doubt make him proud someday. He may not see it now, when she was young and untried, but Willowleaf had faith in the little tigress she'd never even met. It had taken multiple meetings for Willowleaf to hear Dragonstar speak so much at once and this little tigress, she had done it without even being around! He may not see the significance but Willowleaf could. She hoped someday she would have an apprentice like that, one to make her proud and insane all at once. She'd never mentored anyone, namely due to there being a lull in the number of apprentices in LionClan. Willowleaf hoped to take one of Goldenpelt's kits as her apprentice but since they hadn't even been born yet, she wasn't getting her hopes up. Chances were Blackstar and some of the more experienced warriors would be given apprentices rather than the younger, newer warriors. Dragonstar didn't realize how lucky he was to have this obnoxious apprentice to drive him batty. Tagged;; Dragonstar <3 Word Count;; 821 Background Song;; "Pocketful of Sunshine" by Natasha Bebingfield Notes;; <3

[crush]

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[atrb=background,http://i52.tinypic.com/2ql4pdw.jpg] He scowled slightly when she told him that they were so similar, and that was why. It couldn't be that, for how would he have known? He'd hardly even given the kit a second glance until her apprenticeship. He'd known there was a Daykit, and that she'd gotten sick and survived. That was all he'd known. He'd never spent any time with her. But, then again, that wasn't to say he hadn't offhandedly noticed her. Seen her out of the corner of his eye, heard her occasionally as he passed the nursery. Still, that couldn't have been enough. You didn't sort someone out, even subconsciously, through miniscule little snippets that you couldn't even remember if you'd had or not. That was just crazy talk. He chose not to comment beyond a vaguely disbelieving mix between a growl and a huff. Then Willowleaf mentioned that she'd be his greatest ally someday and he rolled his eyes. No, I'm pretty sure she's destined to make me lose my mind and jump off a cliff. He replied dryly, not even joking. Exaggerating, yes, but only ever so slightly. For the most part, he was entirely serious. His mind flashed back to their first conversation, after he'd been caught lost in thought. He couldn't help the small smile that twitched at the corners of his lips, remembering how it had all started. "You're thinking about a she-cat aren't you!" The accusation that had been meant to be light-hearted, perhaps even a joke for all he knew, and by starclan had he been stricken down. Flailing around for an answer, for some way to change the topic. Not even Willowleaf had put him in that position before. He swore up and down that he didn't like it at all, that it would be things like that that made him want to just strangle her until she couldn't speak, but yet it had pushed itself into his few fond memories. Being treated like a normal tiger, like nothing bad had ever happened to him, like nothing ever would, and like he was an apprentice, just like her, and they were merely friends. It had been... different, to say the least. It probably didn't help she'd prodded at things he didn't want to talk about, or think about. And it wasn't even his past. He wasn't sure when he'd gotten touchy about the present, but he had, at least with cats in his clan. His head rolled to the side, looking at Willowleaf, but not even thinking about it, mind still stuck for a moment on the obnoxious Daypaw. "It's okay if you like her, you know, I bet she likes you too!" The words rang back through his mind, as if she'd just said them now and he blinked. With a soft huff, he shook his head a bit, pushing that particularly thought away. Or at least, he tried to. I mean, she caught me thinking once, not really paying attention, and she just wouldn't leave it be. It's like she wants to know every word that goes through my mind. It's infuriating. So he couldn't turn his thoughts entirely from it, it seemed, but at least he didn't mention specifics. It was awkward enough being interrogated by Daypaw, he didn't think he'd last through trying to sort out all that had happened and explain it. Particularly since it sort of included her, even if Daypaw thought it was just a tigress in the clan. He had a sinking feeling it probably wouldn't take very long at all for the apprentice to figure out it wasn't a cat from tigerclan at all that plagued his mind. He just hoped she would let it rest with the thought of it being a loner. It was safer for him, Willowleaf and probably even little Daypaw.

[Bast]

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[atrb=background,http://i54.tinypic.com/34zfx4m.jpg] LISTENING to Dragonstar's rant about his young apprentice only confirmed in Willowleaf's mind that whoever this little Daypaw was, she must be a young Dragonstar. The thought made her smile as she laid lazily letting his words wash over her. It was amusing to say the least, hearing him grumble and growl about how the apprentice would drive him mad, how she wanted to know everything he thought, how she could infuriate him just by existing. The more he talked, the more Willowleaf wished for an apprentice like this. Relationships like the one Dragonstar was forging with Daypaw, it would last long after Dragonstar had passed to StarClan. With each word, he only confirmed it and set it further into stone. It was adorable really, watching Dragonstar grumble about a she-cat that without a doubt would be important to him someday. Willowleaf couldn't quite believe Dragonstar couldn't see it, but at the same time, if he did see it, it might make things turn out differently. So, when he stopped his rant and huffed into silence, Willowleaf ran her tail along his flank and smiled. "IT sounds to me like she just wants to be like you and have your approval. Have you ever asked her what she wanted? Does she dream of being a leader? Does she dream big or will she be happy being a queen or warrior? She's still young, just give her what she needs to grow and I promise you, someday she will exceed every obstacle you could put in her path. You did and without a mentor at that. If you don't believe me, then ask yourself, what was it about her that made you not give her to Thistledown? There had to be something there, maybe StarClan's sign, maybe something as small as determination in her stare or that she held her head high and faced you without fear." CURLING her tail so it came to rest across her back legs, Willowleaf rolled onto her back and stretched, claws flexing as she drew her body out to its full length. Savoring the feel, Willowleaf rolled again and pushed herself to stand. Bumping her head against Dragonstar's shoulder, another gesture mostly done by lions, the white lioness shook herself out. Looking down at the male, she gave a soft purr. Daypaw wasn't the only cat to face Dragonstar without fear. Willowleaf had yet to find something worth fearing. He was guarded, grumpy and tended to be a bit rough, but that didn't make him a bad cat. All those rumors she'd heard, they were lies. They were lies told by cats too weak and afraid to see past the masks and the hurt and the scars. Willowleaf hoped Daypaw was someone that would, or could, see past them. Maybe she had some of her own? Willowleaf hoped not. Apprenticeship was too young to be scarred. Either way, she almost wanted to meet this young tigress. "DON'T be too hard on her. She-cats...we take a while to grow into ourselves. We stay kits for a while," Willowleaf told her friend, a purr underlining her voice. PADDING over to a nearby boulder, Willowleaf sprang easily onto it, feeling the sun-warmed stone humming under her paws almost like a living creature. Laying down on it so she was still facing toward Dragonstar, she began to rasp her tongue over her muddied limbs. She'd ignored the dirt for a long while but now it just had to go. Her entire pelt looked a dusty, dirty brown over the pale blonde-white that her pelt normally was. Tagged;; Dragonstar <3 Word Count;; 597 Background Song;; "Standing Outside the Fire" by Garth Brooks Notes;; >.< yucky post

[crush]

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[atrb=background,http://i52.tinypic.com/2ql4pdw.jpg] He listened silently, thinking on what she said. He'd asked her why she wanted to know, but she hadn't truly given him an answer. Not a proper one that explained anything, anyway. It had been easier to turn the subject away, stop any possibility of speeding up the young tigress discovering this little secret of his. He wished it didn't have to be a secret. He'd always been told it was alright to be friends with cats from other clans, as long as it wouldn't stop him from fighting them in battle when the need arose. He had placated himself with that at first, but now he wasn't sure. He wouldn't stop with these visits, of course, he knew that. He'd rather be a loner and be free to wait by the border to see Willowleaf again than be trapped within his own territory with no one who knew or understood why he had become what he was. But, then, those last words were right. Daypaw had held no fear in her eyes. She had listened to each order, yes, but out of respect and a will to learn. Perhaps he was not as alone in his own clan as he thought he was. Still, he wasn't about to blurt it out to the apprentice. It was a sensitive subject and he wasn't sure he trusted her with it. True, he had known her longer than he had known Willowleaf before he'd told the lioness, but it was a different set of circumstances. Willowleaf had nearly died, died because of his stupid insistence at following her to keep her safe. A rather chivalrous act. He supposed, if there was any word to describe it that would be the one best suited. So he'd felt it appropriate to at least tell her why he had insisted. Daypaw had no such incident. As Willowleaf moved to the rock, he rolled back to his side, facing her, head held up a bit for a moment before just flopping down to the mud. He didn't care to lick himself clean. It would be easier to just pop in a small pond and let the waters take the dirt away on their own. That was not as much an option for her. She may have been willing to go in still water before, for all he knew, but after a near death experience, that had likely faded and rather rapidly. That better be all it is. He grumbled, though it was half-hearted. He didn't hate his apprentice, of course he didn't. He just wished she was so damn curious. It could very well be his downfall if she found out. Of course, there was a chance it wouldn't be, a chance she wouldn't tell a soul, but that chance was very slim, almost nonexistant, as far as he knew. Even if he dared tell the young tigress about his life before the clan, he knew he would never tell her about Willowleaf. He could handle whatever came his way because of it, but he would not allow her life to be ruined as a result, not if he could help it. For future reference, it would be wise to avoid taller trees during storms. They get hit by the lightning first, usually. Just like that, his mind switched gears, jumping right on to the next train of thought that happened to be passing through. It wasn't like he wasn't going to inform her of this at some point, just so that this would hopefully not happen again. He figured he might as well do it now when he had little else to say on the subject of Daypaw. He should tell her that the apprentice might find out, all on her own, who Dragonstar thought of, where he disappeared to, but he couldn't bring himself to. There was no point making her worry more, and he wasn't quite sure how to inform her that he did, indeed, think about her more often than he'd ever expected to. It was too foreign a topic for him, too strange, and he was already uncertain about conversations. Less so with her, but the point still stood, at least to him.

[Bast]

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[atrb=background,http://i54.tinypic.com/34zfx4m.jpg] PERKING her ears when Dragonstar spoke, the lioness raised her head and glared halfheartedly at the stretched out tiger. "Humph. I couldn't have guessed," Willowleaf replied blandly, no fire or sting in her words, just a hint of sarcasm. "And that is why I prefer the plains, things don't come crashing down on you when it storms unless it happens to be hail." OF course, that didn't mean storms were fun on the plains. With almost no shelter there had been a few casualties of violent weather. Tornadoes, fires from lightning strikes, floods that swallowed whole territories, it happened more often than anyone wanted to remember. Almost every LionClan elder had one memory or another of a summer that had brought violent rains and windstorms. Willowleaf could remember being around them as a kit and apprentice, listening to their stories as they stared at nothing in particular. They used to tell tales of running through the night, half blind with the rain, fleeing a rising flood while she placed new grasses for bedding or reenacting flight from fires that swept the plains when she brought them their evening meals. There had been fear in their tones but it was remembered fear, not true terror. Violent weather happened, it would as simple as that. Even she didn't particularly fear it. Someday it would happen and she would run like the millions of lions before her, fleeing for high ground or running downwind. Someday she too would tell tales to apprentices and kits when her eyes grew gray with age and her fur went from blonde to silver. LOOKING toward the woodland she'd fled only hours ago, Willowleaf shook her head. "I don't know how you can stand it, being surrounded by trees and crowded by plants all the time." A shiver ran down her spine. "It's horrible!" SHAKING her head again, Willowleaf pushed herself to sit upright and began grooming the dirt and mud from her chest and forelegs. She made a mental note to wade through the stream near camp. For one thing she would have to get rid of Dragonstar's scent and for another she just had to get all the mud out of her fur. It really did look like she'd been buried alive! Anyone could look at her and be shocked enough to ask what had happened. Simply slipping and falling or any other excuse she could come up with would simply sound too far-fetched. Questions would be asked, questions she didn't want to ask. The thought of it was enough to make Willowleaf sigh. So much deception. So much lying and hiding and sneaking around. Looking over at Dragonstar, Willowleaf almost thought about fleeing the clans again. But, then what? She'd be lonely and waste away in a land where no one would care. At least if such a thing happened in the clan lands, Thunderstrike if no one else would notice because it was his job to notice such illnesses, whether they be of the heart or the body. SATISFIED her front was clean, Willowleaf twisted around to reach her belly and side. As she did, she leaned a bit too far and nearly toppled off the boulder. She reacted only in time to let out an indignant startled yowl and grip the boulder, her claws screeching a bit on the stone as she clung on and used her hind legs to push herself back onto her perch in a more secure fashion. Tagged;; Dragonstar <3 Word Count;; 578 Background Song;; "Girl Next Door" by Saving Jane Notes;; >.< yucky post again